Philex Mining Corp. subsidiary, Silangan Mindanao Mining Co. Inc., signed a syndicated debt facility worth $100 million (P5.54 billion) with a group led by BDO Capital and Investment Corp.

The company said the amount will be used to develop its Silangan gold and copper mine in Surigao del Norte.

The omnibus loan and security agreement was signed by Philex Mining chairman Manuel Pangilinan and president and chief executive officer Eulalio Austin Jr. with executives of the lenders, including Union Bank of the Philippines, Security Bank Corp. and Bank of the Philippine Islands, as well as BDO Capital and Investment Corp. as lead arranger.

“Our stock rights offer last year raised net proceeds of P2.6 billion. We used the proceeds to commence the development of Phase 1 of the project. Phase 1 of the Silangan project, which covers the Boyongan ore deposit, has an estimated mine life of 28 years based on our declared mineable reserves of 81 million tons at 0.67 percent copper and 1.13 grams per ton of gold, containing an estimated recoverable copper of 993 million pounds and 2.8 million ounces of gold,” said Romeo Bachoco, Philex Mining senior vice president and chief financial officer, in a statement.

The Silangan mine project is expected to be a major exporter of metallic minerals for the Philippines that will generate foreign exchange receipts to augment and increase the country’s foreign currency reserves.

The project is also seen to create thousands of direct and indirect employment, particularly in various towns of Surigao del Norte, broken down into 1,317 site in-house team members, 31 headquarters team members and over 2,100 construction workers.

Philex Mining is looking at additional mining resources while developing the Silangan project. – Jed Macapagal

Source: https://malaya.com.ph/news_business/philex-taps-100m-loan-to-finance-surigao-mine/?amp